Velan Beckett was a two-sport athlete during her athletic career that spanned 2000-04. She was a four-year player on the soccer team and added track & field when the college added the sport in 2002.
Velan Beckett started 48 of 91 games for the soccer team that culminated in a National Championship in 2003. In the championship game, she made the most important play late in regulation on a restart where she sent the ball into the box that led to the game-tying goal by Brooke Davis with 30 seconds remaining in the contest. The Red Dragons would win the game in the first overtime, 2-1, on a goal by Sanada Mujanovic.
Velan Beckett collected forty-eight points for her career, including four SUNYAC titles and four appearances in the NCAA tournament. She was named to the All-SUNYAC team in 2001.
In track & field, Velan Beckett was a SUNYAC medalist in the 500-meter run in 2003 and the 800-meter run in 2004. She was part of the first relay foursome that won a SUNYAC title during outdoor season in 2003. During the 2003-04 indoor season, she earned All-American honors as part of the Distance Medley Relay at the NCAA Championships.
Velan Beckett graduated with a double major in Psychology and Child & Family Studies. She pursued and received a master's degree in School Counseling in 2006 from Sage Graduate School in Albany.
After interning as a school counselor at Shaker Senior High School for one year, Velan Beckett began her full-time career as a school counselor at Shenendehowa CSD in 2006 before taking a similar position at Koda Middle School from 2007-12. Velan Beckett then moved into the administration side first as Assistant Principal at Koda (2012-19) which included a short stint as Interim Principal at Acadia Middle School. She then served as Principal of Schuylerville Elementary School (2019-23) before taking her current job as the Principal for Koda.
Velan Beckett along with seven other individuals will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 7 at 11am in the Morris Conference Center.
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